Parents Please Take Note
Candlelighters Canada recently benefitted from the work of Angela Lasci
who with a political science and palliative care background tackled the
national issue of health insurance for children traveling out of Canada
for treatments, or vacations. The project was commissioned by the Advocacy
Committee of the Board of Directors.
For children with cancer who leave the country the coverage in each province varies from virtually none to quite reasonable. Many parents are unaware of the coverage their child may have. Such phrases as "no change in treatment for 90 days," may render a policy invalid.
We urge all parents who are considering leaving the country with their child with cancer, for whatever reason, to carefully check their current provincial coverage, supplemental and group insurance. If the child is traveling on a Wish parents are advised to check with the Wish organization concerning their position regarding out of country medical coverage should the child require care. Candlelighters Canada will be informing all treatment centres of the issues parents face when planning to leave the country and the vital role the oncologist or haematologist plays in providing supporting documentation.
Candlelighters Canada will be working with health insurance companies to alleviate this problem and we will keep you informed of progress.
Summaries of the report will shortly be made available to all treatment centres and parent groups.
Problems parents face attempting to ensure ongoing educational resources for their children with cancer has been brought to the attention of Candlelighters Canada. Over the past few months an extensive survey was conducted by Aviva Wittenberg in conjunction with the Advocacy Committee of the Board. Aviva is a graduate in the Health Sciences from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and brings considerable experience to this project.
Parent Groups, professionals and Ministries of Education were contacted to determine the resources available in each province. The report has been completed and will be made available shortly.
In the interim, provincial representatives are being asked to comment on whether the resources available match what we have been given to understand are available for every child with cancer. This is a very important part of this project and we would greatly appreciate your assistance in completing the information, should you receive the questionnaire, and returning it to the National Office. There are several recommendations in the report which Candlelighters will be acting on once this additional information had been returned.
It has been brought to the attention of the Advocacy Committee of the Board of Directors that survivors may encounter difficulty obtaining life insurance at reasonable rates. Candlelighters was fortunate in having a study examining the issues around insurance completed by Tim Nichol, a student at the University of Toronto.
The study showed very clearly the importance of maintaining accurate and current health records throughout all stages of the child's cancer. Follow-up care is essential and must be documented. To assist with this record keeping Candlelighters Canada will be publishing a "Personal Health Record" developed by Helen Yoon a graduate of the Ryerson University Nursing Programme.
You will notice that this issue of Contact includes a flier for survivors who would be willing to share their life insurance, or group insurance, experiences with us. This information will provide the necessary background to Tim's study and will enable Candlelighters to work with certain insurance companies on behalf of survivors.
We would greatly appreciate your assistance in completing the flier and returning it to us. The instructions are on the form. Thank you. We will keep you updated on our progress.
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Last modified: January 20, 1998
This page was created by Matt Evans. Please email me at [email protected]